The funeral of footballer Emiliano Sala is taking place in his home town in Argentina today.

The 28-year-old striker died when the plane in which he was travelling crashed in the English Channel on January 21, just days after he had signed for Cardiff City in a record transfer deal for the Premier League side.

The only other person on board was former Grimsby man David Ibbotson, who was piloting the aircraft.

Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and chief executive Ken Choo are both attending the funeral in Progreso in the Argentinian province of Santa Fe.

A public vigil, expected to last for several hours, will be held in the gymnasium of Sala's boyhood club San Martin de Progreso.

Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala at Nantes before he went missing on a flight to new club Cardiff City (Image: AP)

The club posted an emotional tribute on Facebook earlier this week, saying the footballer would be "eternally in our hearts", adding: "We are waiting for you... like the first day you left but this time to stay with us forever. You went and you are an example for everyone."

Sala was born in October 1990 at Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.

At the opening of an inquest, his cause of death was given as "head and trunk injuries".